MHL Technology – Introduction, Features and Products.

MHL was developed by the MHL Consortium, a Consortium made up of leading companies in the mobile and CE space that include Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony, and Toshiba. MHL is a technology that allows you to easily connect your MHL mobile devices to the big screen. It also works with existing HDMI TVs through the use of an MHL-to-HDMI adapter. Once connected, you can view your videos, play music and games, run a slideshow of your pictures on the big screen for your family and friends, all while the TV charges back the device. The global MHL ecosystem includes adapters, automotive accessories, A/V receivers, Blu-ray Disc players, cables, DTVs, monitors, projectors, smartphones, streaming media sticks, tablets and more.

MHL 3.0 features:

MHL announced its 3.0 specification to address the latest consumer requirements for connecting a mobile device to displays, marking major advancements in the areas of audio and video transmission over an MHL link. The first products to include the latest MHL specification were the Sony Xperia Tablet Z2,the Sony Xperia Z2 smartphone, the Samsung S9, U8500 and U7500 TV series, and Sony X950B and X900B TV series.

Features of the MHL 3.0 specification include support of 4K (Ultra HD), simultaneous high-speed data channel, improved Remote Control Protocol (RCP) with support for peripherals such as a touch screen, keyboard and mouse, enhanced 7.1 surround sound with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, and support for simultaneous multiple displays. Further, it also supports higher power charging up to 10W and the latest HDCP 2.2 content protection.

MHL Specification Feature Comparison

Advantages of MHL

MHL enables you to connect your phone to the big screen for personal entertainment to watch videos and view pictures.

Connect a Bluetooth game controller to your smartphone and play games with no lag on your TV similar to a game console experience.

If you do not own a Smart TV, you can connect MHL streaming sticks such as the Roku Streaming Stick and Sony Bravia Smart Stick to the MHL slot of your TV and transform it into a smart one.

Simultaneously charges your phone while you’re connected to the TV, so you’ll never have to worry about a dead battery

MHL can also help you transform your phone into a portable computer by connecting it to a keyboard, mouse, monitor (or multiple monitors), and storage device to work anytime, anywhere. Another potential productivity use case is the mobile device connected to a smartbook “shell” where all of the processing power comes from the phone.

MHL Products:

There is an installed base of more than 650 million products globally from leading mobile and CE manufacturers. These products include adapters, automotive accessories, A / V receivers, Blu-ray Disc™ players, cables, DTVs, monitors, projectors, smartphones, streaming media sticks, tablets, and more. A full list of MHL-enabled devices can be found here: http://www.mhltech.org/productlist/